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[Slyboogy]

Hi guys,

Today I was made captain and was only notified once the team sheet was handed out. I have no experience in captaincy whatsoever and I have only played for 2 seasons of cricket minus cricket in the backyard.

After having a debrief with the Coach it seems as if I am likely to captain the T20 this season so I am looking for tips.

What is the standard field setting for T20, and when do you change it to spread out the field and who goes where like where would you place your best and worst fielders.

What is needed of a captain? Any other helpful tips.

My first 10 overs of our fielding innings went really well along with the last 10 overs of us batting. However, I lost my way a bit when the batsman became settled and kept the field the same and seeking help from the more experienced players (who weren't many and have just come back this season). How does one use the bowlers?

I made sure everyone had a chance today, bowled 8 bowlers and those that didn't batted first. We lost by 13 runs today as the opposition made 154.

I was all over place as soon as I was given the captaincy not knowing much at all and didn't really feel in control due to the lack of experience and being quite new to club cricket.

[billyb]

I'll second this request for help!
I'm also new to the captaincy and had my first game tonight.

I felt in control of the game and the team, but I was disappointed in the lack of energy in the field. We won tonight- by a no-ball when our last man was caught with the scores tied, so I'm happy about that. I just appreciate that I have lots to learn and not very long to learn it.

We had a fairly weak side tonight, and next week it will be stronger due to playing one of the big boys in the league.

The one major error I made tonight was standing close in too much (so I could keep an eye on the game), at short cover. I'd rate myself as the best fielder in the team (arguably), and with them heaving into the legside, and with catches going down, I should have put myself out there for sure.
I struggled to enthuse a side that just didn't cover ground quickly enough- we probably lost 30 runs on needless singles and twos alone!

[chrisbd]

Having captained a fair bit, I think the most important thing is a coherent plan. Talk to your bowlers before the game, and have them tell you what they are trying to do. No point telling your best inswing bowler to try and bowl to 2 slips or something like that. If you have a clear plan (i.e, full and wide), you can set a relevant field to it. Further, talk to your bowlers about their preferred ends, preferred times to bowl to etc etc - if you can keep them as happy as possible, it's a major win for you.

I'd also make sure you don't do the typical club cricketer captain of ball chasing. It's important to back your bowlers when it comes to the field placing. Just because one ball has been flicked through vacant mid wicket, don't chase the ball and place a fielder there - it's difficult for a bowler to focus on constantly changing the ball they are meant to be bowling.

When batsman get settled, there's two things I like to do in T20. The first is as a captain, slow the game down. It's a frantic game T20, so sometimes a two minute conversation with your bowler, even if you're talking about what pint to have after the game, can slow the momentum down for the batsman, and give your bowler a chance to clear their head. Secondly, don't be afraid to mix bowlers up in one over spells, and think about small things like bowling off spinners to left handers, or not bowling off spinners to a right hander to a short leg side boundary. These things, as well as mixing your bowlers up, can have a big difference.

With regards to the final 5 overs of the fielding innings, I think what's most important (along with having a clear plan) is getting your best fielders in the most important positions. Usually this is straight and cow corner, but if for example you're playing on a short straight boundary and therefore are banging it into the wicket to get the batsman to hit square, have your best fielders in these positions.

Finally, a good spinner is like gold dust in T20. If you can utilise one correctly, and continue to support them when they get hit for the odd six, I think you get rewarded handsomely.

Just my thoughts,

CBD

[Slyboogy]

I'll second this request for help!
I'm also new to the captaincy and had my first game tonight.

I felt in control of the game and the team, but I was disappointed in the lack of energy in the field. We won tonight- by a no-ball when our last man was caught with the scores tied, so I'm happy about that. I just appreciate that I have lots to learn and not very long to learn it.

We had a fairly weak side tonight, and next week it will be stronger due to playing one of the big boys in the league.

The one major error I made tonight was standing close in too much (so I could keep an eye on the game), at short cover. I'd rate myself as the best fielder in the team (arguably), and with them heaving into the legside, and with catches going down, I should have put myself out there for sure.
I struggled to enthuse a side that just didn't cover ground quickly enough- we probably lost 30 runs on needless singles and twos alone!

I had the same issues there.

I was useless standing there as not once did I get near the ball, in fact, I don't remember stopping it once today when I was in the field.

I tried my hardest getting energy into the team, only got a few that responded, the others are fairly new in the team.

I had control of the team and the game, but the game slipped away in the last 10 overs. It also doesn't help that majority of the team are bowlers and we only have two geniune batsman.

[chrisbd]

Most skippers, who aren't slippers, tend to stand at mid on. You get a good view of the game that way, and everyone can see you, and you're close to the bowler if you need a quiet word

[Slyboogy]

Most skippers, who aren't slippers, tend to stand at mid on. You get a good view of the game that way, and everyone can see you, and you're close to the bowler if you need a quiet word

Yeah thanks for your help so far mate.

I didn't field there due to a bad injury I sustained on my right hand with severe bruising so was a bit more circumspect. It should be hopefully next week or a week after.

I've got a plan of bowling bowlers with

Close Field
2 overs
2 overs
New Bowlers
2 overs
2 overs
New Bowlers
2 overs
2 overs
Spread Field
New bowlers
1 over
1 over
1 over
And then the final 5 overs bowled by the bowlers who bowled the first 7 if that makes sense?

[chrisbd]

Ye that makes sense. I think it's a balance. I like the fact you have a plan, but the best captains can read the game on the field. So stick to the plan yes, but if for example you see a batsman is adept at playing seamers, leave a spinner on for longer etc. I think in T20 especially, the pace is so fast you need to identify the batsman's strengths and weaknesses. A bloke could be on 70* without having faced a spinner, so it's worth introducing one, even if it's not a turning deck, just to get a look at how he plays. Small things like that, sizing up the oppo, can go a huge way I think!

No worries RE help - it's nice to be here in a personal capacity helping!

[Slyboogy]

Yeah totally, a captain needs to be proactive no doubt, but that is just a baseline from going on today.

I do have a batting line up, but I expect to have some different guys playing under me next week so will work around that.

Any ideas on a basic standard field placing at all? I struggled at that the most today

[chrisbd]

Standard field placing with 2 men out (so first 6 overs usually)

I like having a sweeper cover, and encouraging my guys to bowl wide of off stump so off side would be, Slip (early on, dropping to short third man if it isn't swinging), backward point, deep cover point, extra cover, mid off, Leg side - fine leg (important as gives bowlers room for movement, can have it a bit wider than normal if needed), square leg, mid wicket, and mid on.

Then as you get into the later overs, most captains go with two straight back, long on and long off as standard, I'd rarely move from there unless I had someone quick who could bang it in. Then I like the idea of one sweeper either side, and then either third or fine leg back on the ropes, depending on the line i was going to bowl. Then my four in the ring would be point, square leg, extra cover, and one of third man/fine leg, depending on who's deeper? Does that make sense?

Then obviously if you had someone who bowled very full, you can bring both fine leg and third man up, and have 5 men in front of the wicket deep, whereas someone who hits the deck, you need square leg and fine leg back maybe.

Hope that makes some sense?

[Slyboogy]

Good help so far mate, I appreciate it!

[TGB1997]

As I am 19 years old and have played a fair bit of T20 in the past couple of years I have some tips. Although I haven't been captain for a fair few years as a bowler I have to take on a similar role to a captain in T20.

I have found in the past that bowling 2 seamers at the start the innings can be a risk as the batsmen will be trying to attack early on with the fielding restrictions so we tried using either using spinners that bowl fairly quickly or a medium pacer that skids the ball through a bit more. We initially only tried to use them for 1 over but can be used for 2 overs if they are successful. When the ball is new and a spinner bowls fairly quick and makes the ball slide on with the arm a bit it can be very difficult to hit about. Also when the batsmen are going to attack having quicker bowlers on makes it easier to score quickly as they will be going hard at the ball and any slight touch will make it fly off the bat.

With your bowlers in the middle overs I would recommend putting mid on and/or mid off back for a couple of reasons, the first is that if a bowler is pitching it up straight down the ground is the easiest place to hit boundaries so by having the man back makes it a bigger risk and could deter them from playing the shot. The other reason is that they will quite often they will just knock it down the ground for singles. In T20 boundary pressure on the batsmen is really important as the game is so short they will want to score quickly so the lack of boundaries could trigger a false shot and potentially a wicket.

During the final overs or the death you want to have protection down the ground and between mid wicket and mid on depending on field placements. If your bowler will try and hit their yorkers then it gives them an area of protection if they get it wrong. Ideally you would have a bowler than can bowl reasonably quick yorkers and a decent slower ball as that will really bring the boundary fielders into the game.

I've played a fair bit of T20 and grew up with the game so naturally I have a lot of experience with it. As a left arm spinner I have had a difficult and challenging time in T20 but I have had success in the past:

2016 T20's:
- 4 overs, 2 wickets for 20 runs -Kent Cricket League T20

- 4 overs, no wickets for 21 runs -Kent Regional League T20

2015 T20's:
- 4 overs, 1 wicket for 21 runs - Kent Regional League T20

- 4 overs, 2 maidens, 4 wickets for 3 runs - Kent Regional League T20 (first change after one over from another spinner opening the bowling)

- 3 overs, no wickets for 23 runs - Kent Regional League T20 (opening the bowling)

2012 T20's:
- 3 overs, 2 wickets for 20 runs (opening the bowling)

- 1 over, no wickets for 19 runs (opening the bowling)

- 2 overs, 3 wickets for 16 runs - Interclub friendly

- 4 overs, 3 wickets for 39 runs

As you can see in these stats that plans don't always work and having faith in your bowlers especially your younger bowlers and your spinners is crucial as by backing them will enable them a better chance of coming back from a bad over or situation etc.

[HallamKeeper]

Our captain stands at 3rd man for all games, we have a small ground but does anyone think that is odd?

[smilley792]

Our captain stands at 3rd man for all games, we have a small ground but does anyone think that is odd?

When I was skipper I used to stand on slips or mid on.


But if I was bowling, I'd still drop to fine leg, some questioned this! But I wanted a rest. easy to get caught up in it all and make rash decisions, but sometimes it's best to stand from a far.

[HallamKeeper]

I think he goes there because he can't catch.

[smilley792]

I think he goes there because he can't catch.

You can't say that! Lol


Any news your end of our cup game has been the arranged?? Be interesting as our seconds may well have scored more than a e can dream off on sat! Seconds skipper is on form.